6 Reviews for HP Photosmart C7280 All-In-One Inkjet Printer

• User review from Bizrate

• Shame on you, HP.

• by veek
• Apr. 2, 2008
• Comments:
  Oh how I hate you Hewlett Packard.
  <br>
  <br>Now, I reserve use of the word "hate" for truly spite-inducing things - such as red chowder or Hitler or people who listen to Rush Limbaugh and then spew garbage about how stupid everyone else is. But Hewlett Packard, you have made my list.
  <br>
  <br>Let's set the scene: my wife wanted less cords in our office, so I started replacing wired devices with wireless. I did some research and found that CNET and PC Magazine both rated the HP C7280 as an excellent choice for a wireless AIO (All In One) printer which mapped to our particular needs. The price was within our range, and Fry's had it in stock and at the recommended price point.
  <br>
  <br>Easy enough - I go to Fry's and buy it. That's when the troubles started.
  <br>
  <br>I install it. Seems easy enough, every function works, it found our wireless network, accepted the WPA credentials, and all the testing (copy, fax, scan) worked fine. I was grinning and moving on to the next device.
  <br>
  <br>Well, shortly thereafter I started seeing EXTREME performance issues with my PC. And then weird errors started appearing. When I cut and pasted the error into Google, lo and behold, it was being caused by the new printer. I read a few internet board postings about it, and found that many, many people were experiencing the same error and that HP was basically good for nothing support-wise. I smiled as I read about the schlubs who actually contacted HP about the problem - and giggled as I read about HP's responses, which all said that the problem was with their PCs, after interminable wait times and calls routed to India for support. Personally, I almost never contact the manufacturer for support, I use Google to read boards and more times than not I find what I'm looking for. Oh, I'll go to the manufacturer's sites to download drivers, patches, upgrades, etc. - just not for support because I've found they are usually terrible at it.
  <br>
  <br>I had to uninstall everything, which turned out to be a Herculian task akin to cleaning the Augean stables due to the "bloatware" which HP includes on their typical installation procedure. The boards were full of vitriol directed at HP for all the marketing and sales crap they loaded onto the installation disk. It took the better part of an hour to fully remove the HP software and the flotsam and jetsam it left behind even after the uninstall.
  <br>
  <br>I download the drivers from the HP site, rather than use the installation disk, as I read on the boards, and things go smoothly. No more bloatware, just the core functions I need. It finds my network, accepts the WPA password, etc. All test print/fax/copy/scan works fine. I'm grinning again.
  <br>
  <br>Not so fast. While now performance issues are gone, I'm getting new errors. A mysterious application icon is showing up in my active tray, but nothing is showing up in Task Manager or any other obvious place. And when I try to shut down, I get a "DeviceIO Notification" error. Hmmmm. I type the error into Google, and lo and behold, its coming from the @)(&*$#OI HP Photosmart printer.
  <br>
  <br>I read more board postings about how HP releases software without fully testing it, how seemingly everyone who bought this machine is having the same problems, and how to reinstall to fix it.
  <br>
  <br>Soooooooooooo.... I uninstall the whole damn thing again. I spew expletives in a steady stream. I curse the mothers of Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard. I whine at my wife and cast nasty glances at my kids.
  <br>
  <br>I install it a third time using the procedure outlined in the boards, and everything seems to go fine. It finds my network, accepts the WPA credentials, and all the test print/copy/fax/scan works fine.
  <br>
  <br>I've now spent almost 6 hours installing and uninstalling this damn printer. When it works, it works GREAT. As I write this, I am waiting for the next shoe to drop - like somehow this friggin printer is going to reset my social security number or cause planes flying over our house to fall from the sky.
  <br>
  <br>I work in software. I've seen bad practices in the development, testing and premature release of software. In short, I think I know bad software when I see it.
  <br>
  <br>I'm looking RIGHT AT YOU HP - this is crappy ass software and you should be ashamed of putting it on the market like this.
  <br>
  <br>
• Pros: Once installed, it works beautifully.
• Cons: Good luck ever getting it installed.
• Has Owned Product: 2 Week(s)

• User review from Bizrate

• Rich

• by Rich
• Mar. 10, 2008
• Comments:
  Great machine by it's self. The features are great. HP has a great car with no engine.
  <br>The software is very poor, had trouble since I bought it. I have spent 30+ hours with the HP Techs. I have had to reload the software several times. I even changed computers and had the same problems.
• Pros: printer it self
• Cons: Software
• Has Owned Product: 4 Month(s)

• User review from Bizrate

• Don't buy this printer

• by Fred
• Mar. 2, 2008
• Comments:
  This priter has some serious software problems when attempting to set it up in a wireless network. I have installed, and uninstalled the software so many times it is rediculous. The computer will recognize the printer today, tomorrow the computer won't recognize it, I have spent untold hours on the phone with H.P. They have tried to resolve this problem with no results. You think it's working and the next day the computer doesnt recognize it. I finally hooked it up thru a U.S.B. port. That's the only way I could get it to work consistantly.
• Pros: Prints beautiful pictures
• Cons: Almost impossible to set up in a wireless network
• Has Owned Product: 3 Month(s)

• Professional review from alaTest.com

• Review summary of HP Photosmart C7280

• by Online Shopper
• Feb. 29, 2008
• Comments:
  alaTEST has collected and analysed 17 reviews of HP Photosmart C7280 from international magazines and websites....
• Review Verdict:
  Experts rate this product 87/100 and users 43/100.
  Comparing these reviews to 87050 other Printers reviews gives this product an overall alaSCORE™ 95/100 = Best. ...
  
  
• Read full review at alaTest.com

• Professional review from maclife.com

• HP Photosmart C7280 All-in-One

• by Stephan Somogyi
• Dec. 27, 2007
• Comments:
  Network workhorse...
• Pros: It just works. Solid Mac driver support for both Tiger and Leopard.
• Cons: No duplex scanning. Minimal security for the built-in Web server.
• Review Verdict:
  . If you need an all-in-one for your Mac, this jack of all trades won't disappoint. ...
  
  
• Read full review at maclife.com

• User review from Bizrate

• I wish the pictures would print out just like the original.

• by comp_mom
• Dec. 20, 2007
• Comments:
  I spent two hours on the phone with tech support trying to figure this out and got nowhere. When I print out a
  <br>picture it has a golden yellow tint over the whole picture. After realignments and cartridge cleanings (re
  <br>calibrating was not an option). The pictures still print out with a yellow tint making my whole family appear
  <br>sickly and jaundiced.
• Pros: It does have great features.
• Cons: My pictures are all yellow.
• Recommended: Yes
• Has Owned Product: 3 Day(s)